this is "world news." tonight breaking news, no deal yet after an 11th hour meeting at white house to avoid the fiscal cliff. the president before the american people. >> the hour for immediate action is here. >> just four days until taxes go up for all americans. tonight what you're telling washington. not again, a giant storm on the move. scare at sea, the cruise ship nightmare unfolding, the captain who warned the passengers ahead of time, but it didn't work. and at last. ♪ at last the american greats me lost this

year. ♪ moon river the lasting gifts and the laughs they leave behind. >> everything you do, do it cool. stand back. good evening on this friday night. diane is spending this holiday weekend with her family. we begin with the 11th hour high stakes meeting at the white house late today to avoid the fiscal cliff. but no deal, asanger builds across the country, the clock is ticking. just four days left before taxes go up for all americans and federal programs see major cuts. we've shown you the math here. the average american household would see their tax bill go up nearly $3,500. this evening, president obama telling congress, the american people are watching what we're doing here. he appeared in the briefing room

a short time ago. let's go right to jon carl tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, david. there are finally signs of life here in washington. after meeting with congressional leaders here at the white house, the president pronounced himself modestly optimistic that a bipartisan agreement can finally be struck that would prevent taxes from going up on virtually everybody in just four days. >> reporter: aftereeting with the congressional leaders, the president said there would be one more effort to come to a bipartisan agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff. >> the hour for immediate action is here. it is now. and the american people are not going to have any patience for a politically, self-inflicted wound to our economy. >> reporter: there are signs of progress. mitch mcconnell and harry reid have agreed to spend the next 24 hours to work a small plan to keep some taxes from going up.

after the meeting, house democrat leader nancy pelosi told us she'sa at least a little encouraged. >> it was constructive. as i say, candor is constructive, and i think it moved us forward, but we'll see. >> reporter: it was the first meeting with the president and all the congressional leaders in six weeks. it follows an impasse that has shaken wall street, the dow down more than 400 points since talks stalled last week. and on main street, business owners like drew greenblatt, who owns a wire basket manufacturing company in baltimore, say the coming fiscal cliff is already causing pain because they just don't know what will happen to their taxes. >> right now we're doing our budget. we're deciding how many people we're hiring next year. we're figuring out how many robots and machines we'll invest. >> reporter: and across the country all the political bickering had people outraged with washington. >> i can't believe we've gotten this close.

>> time for them to turn in their term paper. >> the parties are trying to outdo each other. >> sit down, don't come out of the room until you have this thing taken care of. >> reporter: the next 24 hours will tell us whether or not this will be successful. the top democrat and top republican will be working together to try to come to some bipartisan agreement. on sunday, they'll try to present that agreement to the rank and file members of the senate and then onto the house to see if it can pass. it won't be easy and even if they can pull this off, it will be what the president called the bare minimum, extending the tax cuts, but leaving some of the tough issues, especially spending cuts, until early next year. >> our chief white house correspondent leading us off. jon, thank you. we'll turn to the second major winter storm in a week. the system is already moving through the south, tracking up to the northeast. in arkansas tonight, tens of thousands are still without power after the christmas day blizzard that dumped 15 inches

on that state alone. this evening, the new storm could make holiday travel a nightmare. let's bring back in harvey leonard who was with us last night here. great to have you back. where's the system headed? >> good to be with you too. the storm's pulling out of the gulf, spreading snow sfr southern missouri, it will go through illinois, indiana, ohio, and pennsylvania. then tomorrow, it will spread through the major cities of the northeast. as it continues to move, the heaviest snow will be moving from new york into new england. slides off the coast and is done by sunday morning. >> it's a one-two punch for the millions of americans planning to travel this weekend? >> absolutely. and a lot of snow is falling on places that already had snow. across the midwest, three to six inches of snow. washington may have rain mixed in, so juch slush. philadelphia, one to three. new york city, two to four.

boston and providence, three to six or a little more and heavy and weight, which will make travel saturday afternoon and night very difficult. >> our thanks to you. we'll turn now to a late development. after that horrific case from upstate new york, those firearm called to knock down that blaze and then trapped in gunfire on christmas eve. the suspect killing himself and then to now, an arrest, a woman in custody. we ask tonight, what's her connection? >> reporter: police say 24-year-old dawn nguyen supplied the guns used to ambush four firefighters on christmas eve, killing two of them. >> when nguyen bought the guns and said she was going to be the owner, she lied. >> reporter: authorities say she bought the guns for her neighbor, william spengler, back in 2010. that he even went to the gun store with her to pick them out. spengler, a convicted felon, could not legally purchase a firearm himself. she told police she bought the guns for her own 3rekz and they had recently been stolen.

what's not in dispute. speng ler used those guns sunday night, a 12-gauge shotgun and a bushmaster ar-15 semiautomatic rifle to shoot firefighters responding to a blaze he'd set. >> firearm mike chiapperini was deceased at the scene. >> reporter: also killed, tomas kaczowka. spengler took his own life. tonight dawn nguyen is facing 10 years in prison for her alleged role in this tragedy. earlier this week, the children lit candles to honor the firefighters who died. today's arrest shows how seriously law enforcement is going after anyone connected to the terrible crime even though the shooter is dead tonight. >> ron, thanks to you. with millions of americans on vacation this holiday, an unwelcome headline for passengers on a cruise ship. their holiday trips turned into a nightmare when many of them

became very sick. >> reporter: it advertises comfort, luxury and haute cuisine. >> now sailing on the grandest ocean liner ever, the "queen mary 2." >> reporter: but now the colossal ocean liner is one of three cruises just this week to be rocked by mass outbreaks of the stomach flu. 194 "queen mary" passengers reported contracting the bug, believed to be the highly contagious norovirus. ngets it can even resist most of the disinfectants that are normally used to clean environmental surfaces. >> so you can touch something like this and put it to your mouth and get the virus? >> right. >> reporter: and, tonight, the -- there's no treatment. the captain suggested they stay clear of the buff eight. tonight the cdc is investigating why nearly 200 people were stricken on another ship, the "emerald princess," docked in 40

lauderdale yesterday. one of those passengers was sue hayes, who posted on facebook -- the staff can't keep up with what they have to do for those who are sick. crusielines point out only a tiny fraction of their passengers are affected. small comfort for those sick passengers on the high seas. >> a horrible vacation for so many. it was last night here on the air that we learned of a loss. the death of general norman schwarzkopf. the story behind the nickname that he didn't like. he was a four star general after his tough talk and the action that followed. his troops louding rocky forces from kuwait in 100 hours of the first gulf war. the general known for his swift victories didn't like that nickname, preferring the one his troops called him -- the bear. while he was tough, he had a gentle side, honest and candid in this moment with barbara walters. >> were you ever scared? >> sure. i've been scared in every war i've ever been in. >> if you could meet saddam

hussein, what would you ask him or say to him? >> get out of town. >> a west point officer and decorated graduate, he spent his entire life in the army. when saddam hussein invaded debate in 1990, stormin' norman became a household name. >> as far as saddam hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist nor is he schooled in the operational art, nor he is a tack tition, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. other than that, he's a great military man, i want you to know that. [ laughter ] >> he returned to the persian gulf a national hero to a victory parade in new york. >> it doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. it takes a hero to be one of the men who goes into battle. >> profound words.

though quoted by both political parties, he resisted politics and devoted his time to children's charities. this is a deeply religious time for so many americans, many marking hanukkah and now christmas. our global affairs anchor, clift yawn amanpour on a journey. here now a preview of her special tonight, just one of her discoveries in jerusalem. >> r reporter: the truth behindo many of these biblical stories that took place here remains so captivatingly elusive. in part because so many answers may be buried underneath what today is a living, breathing city. discovered by accident in the 19th century when an archaeologist was walking his dog, this massive network of caves and tunnels is known as solomon's quarries. >> king solomon is the -- >> founding father of the -- >> reporter: it's not a theory shared by archeologists though reminders of solomon, his temple and its destruction almost seep

through the walls. many believe these u8nderground tunnels were used to secretly transport the ark of the covenant out of jerusalem. >> are people trying to be detectives, are they trying to uncover something? >> well, some people want to find the ark of the covenant. i don't know if somebody will find it. >> our christiane amanpour. it was an extraordinary journey last week, and tonight what christiane continued to discover on her journey back to the beginning, part two, tonight at 9:00/8:00 central right here on abc. still much more ahead on "world news" on a friday night, the college student allegedly spied on by her mom and dad. she takes legal action, and tonight she's won. years ago, my doctor told me

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cincinnati, an only child who was center stage in the eyes of her parents. but she said overprotective became everybearing. >> if i didn't get a part that i wanted or in the choir, she would start harassing teachers. >> reporter: her parents had surveillance software installed on her computer and phone. according to court documents, would show up unannounced to check on her. so she filed for a restraining order and won. >> i just wanted to be my own person and to finally figure out who i was, and not what they wanted me to be. >> reporter: dave and julie ireland could not be reached for comment. in court documents, he claimed his daughter is lying and is mentally ill. >> reporter: but the court sided approximate aubrey ireland. the parents reportedly now want the college tuition they paid for returned. their daughter says, all she wants is her life back.

cecilia vega, abc news, los angeles. >> our thanks to cecilia. when we come back, the instant index. and while millions watched her movies, who was secretly watched over marilyn monroe and her close circle of friends and what were they looking for? so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help

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we're going to turn now to the instant index here on a friday night. what's trending to the weekend and the person tonight, marilyn monroe, 50 years after her death, new classified filed just released believed marilyn and her one time husband were communists. what we don't know they were watching her close circle of friends and her trips to mexico. to our quote tonight, visit your parents, that's an order, now the law in china. if you don't visit your aging parents, you face a fine in parents. the law is meant to give neglected parents grounds to take their grown children to court. high in the sky over times square, 288, that's how many tiles were installed on the waterford crystal ball. one of of the tiles, dedicated to dick clark, who first began

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finally tonight here on this friday evening, typically the night we name our person of the week, but as this year winds to a close, we thought we'd look back at the people we lost this year and the extraordinary gifts they left behind. ♪ at last ♪ my love has come along ♪ moon river >> i'm just a fat little man, a fat ugly man. >> you're not ugly. >> i'm ugly, i'm ugly, i'm ugly, ma, leave me alone! >> this guy is a fake businessman. this is goldilocks, can i speak

to papa bear? [ whistling andy griffith theme ] >> doesn't want to marry me. like another dream. ♪ ♪ memories like the corners of my mind ♪ ♪ hey we're the monkeys and people say we monkey around ♪ >> everything you do, do it cool. now stand back. ♪ moving on up to the east side ♪ ♪ to a deluxe apartment >> i used to work as a lamp shade in las vegas. [ laughter ] >> you're awe drunk and an unfit mother. the sooner we have you put away

in that sanitaryium, the better offyou're going to be. >> hello and welcome aboard, right on time for another groovy ride on the soul train. ♪ staying alive ♪ let's dance the last dance tonight ♪ ♪ and i ♪ will always love you >> if you had to name the devil for you, the biggest devil among them. >> the biggest devil is me. i'm my best friend and my worst enemy. ♪ i will always love you >> i did some very good books, pictures, that is the only true happiness i've ever, ever enjoyed in my life. >> peace, not war. >> truth, candor.

>> as americans, let us never, ever forget that our freedom on only sustained because our people are willing to fight for it. >> i'm mike wallace. >> i'm mike wallace. >> am i asking a tough question or a difficult question? nothing wrong with it, because you're in search of the truth, you hope. ♪ >> yes, sir, boss. like to drink. >> welcome, you've got mail. >> keeping yourself fresh is a difficult thing, and finding things that are hard for you is something that you have to do or else you just -- >> lift-off, america's first

astronaut. ♪ >> that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. ♪ >> it's time for america's favorite dance party, american band stand. >> dick clark coming to you live from times square in new york city. ♪ so long. >> so long. >> for now, dick clark, so long. ♪ >> we'll all be remembering dick clark as we ring in the new year next week. that is the broadcast for friday night. i'll see you here this weekend. from diane sawyer and all of us here at abc, have a good weekend. goodnight.